I never could get them to bite, and I think they are feeding on insect larvae just under the surface.
I want honest answers to this question. Guys and Gals how many of you have caught Surficing Crappie? What did you use to catch them on? I never have.
I never could get them to bite, and I think they are feeding on insect larvae just under the surface.
Rare to see them feed this way and darn tough to catch! I want to try fly rod setup and see what happens?
"Never Fry Bacon Naked"
I have caught them on a fly when fishing for bluegill. Not a lot of them but a few.
yeah but only twice. same small natural lake in n. indiana.
they were feeding on fry and i used a small gray marabou jig.
when on surface they loosely school and only dimple the top of the water , not aggressive like whites or bass. all nice sized black crappie. also they were over deep water not on weed lines.
Yodibuzz
I'm fishing off a old cement structure that showed up with the drop in the water level of the lake. In the morning when it is calm I see the crappie feeding on the surface. they seem to be feed on small fry. Have never been able to get them to bite. thinking of getting a floating jig and using a small bass assassian shad. I never hardly catch a crappie untill a hour after sun rise and if it is cloudy the bite is slow.A little wind also helps. I noticed that if it stays calm and cloudy they feed on top longer .
I have a nice lake south of here that I do well at for crappie. There is a submerged island with good cover that I can work right before dark and hit the slabs pretty well.
Just about a half hour before dark the gills and sunfish start feeding at the surface. I'll be pushing rods ahead of me and throwing a fly or spider. I will catch the specks below the surface and gills at the top. Can't say I've caught a speck late season on a flyrod.
Now spring is a different story. During the spawn season that's just about the only way I'll fish for them. The specks hit hard like a largemouth bass and the gills will suck it under.
Life has many choices, eternity has two...choose wisely.
Unapplied biblical truth is like unapplied paint...how many gallons do you have sittin' around? U.D.
Here is a floating jig. If you stick the smallest split shot on it about a foot from the jig ,you will be able to cast it. It will then sink very very slow because of the smallest split shot. Of course the bigger the split shot the faster it will fall. using the smallest split should keep it in that 1 to 2 foot range about about 5 to 10 seconds.
small 3" jerkbaits.
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Yes, in about 20 feet of water in Oxbow Reservoir at the Brownlee spillway. It was like they were laying just under the surface waiting for the jig. We had to use a "tight line" cast because the bite came the instant the jig hit the water. Otherwise, the bite was gone before the slack could be taken up. Only happened one time last year but I have heard of others encountering the same thing but I don't know where.